Analysis & Opinion

(Reuters) - Business software maker NetSuite Inc posted a fall in billings growth in the first quarter, sending its shares down as much as 4 percent in trading after the bell.

For the first quarter, calculated billings, which the company describes as revenue plus the change in deferred revenue, was $77.9 million, up 26 percent.

But the growth rate for calculated billings was down from the 36 percent recorded in the fourth-quarter, which pulled the stock down, analyst Jeffrey Houston of Barrington Research told Reuters.

The average selling price in the first quarter was flat, compared with an increase of 98 percent last year.

Lack of improvement in the average selling price affected the billings, analyst Scott Berg of Feltl & Co told Reuters.

Billings in the second quarter would slightly increase to 26 percent to 30 percent, Houston said.

The company, which is majority owned by Oracle Corp's billionaire Chief Executive Larry Ellison, expects earnings of 3-4 cents per share on revenue of $73 million to $73.5 million in the second quarter.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 4 cents per share on revenue of $72.3 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

First-quarter net loss narrowed to 11 cents per share from 12 cents per share a year ago.